When the Ministerial Team misspelled “defectoscope,” they opened the door for the Teacher Bees to win the 18th annual Spelling Bee at the Gilmer Civic Center Saturday night.

Lacy Moore correctly spelled the missed word and then spelled “crumpet,” an English biscuit served with tea, to win the contest.

Mark Scirto, Chief Meterologist of Channel 7-KLTV, Tyler, conducted the auction portion of the contest. He added a new element when he asked for direct contributions starting at $500 and then dropping by segments of $100. He got his first takers at $200, and also contributors at $100 and $50.

As of press time, the Rotary Club sponsors of the Bee had received over $21,000 and were still counting late contributions. The Bee is the largest single source of income for the Upshur County Literacy Program.

The runner-up team consisted of Blake Lander, Marion Palmer and Ricky Rigsby and was sponsored by Croley Funeral Home, while Carolyn Williams and Criss Bartley joined Mrs. Moore in representing the Teacher Bees. State Farm Insurance, Henry Troell agent, sponsored the teachers.

The first team to fall by the wayside was the ETMC Regional Healthcare System team of Jennifer Harrison, Dr. John Roland and Dr. Raelanda Smith-Peart.

First National Bank also lost out before the auction portion of the program.